The Differences Between Designing For Web And Print

There is no denying that the internet has changed the way in which businesses market themselves. The fact that the majority of businesses are now discovered via search engines cannot be ignored, but it doesn’t mean that traditional marketing methods should now be completely ignored. This is especially true at the local level where a good print campaign can be a whole lot more effective than an elaborate online strategy. Items such as custom printed envelopes delivered to a mailbox can be more powerful than an email to a jam packed inbox.

There are plenty of companies out there now that offer affordable web design, but that does not necessarily make them a good choice for your traditional print marketing efforts. There are some major differences between designing for web and designing for print, which you need to be aware of before hiring a design company. Let’s take a look at some of the major differences between the two Web And Print:

Layout – The measurement of the screen you are viewing a

Web Design Puzzle putting the pieces together

website on may be in inches, but designers put together those layouts in pixels. The design of the entire piece now has to be dynamic so that the site can be viewed properly across all manner of different devices. It also needs to be laid out in a way that makes it easy to navigate. Print design is measured in inches and is put together with a specific item in mind: business cards, postcards, envelopes etc. Designers need to include a safe area in their measurements so that optimum printing results can be achieved.

Color – This is perhaps where the biggest difference between the two lies. Computer screens use an RGB color system that is similar to what you see on

your TV. When you go to offline print design, that color mode needs to be CMYK in order for the colors to look crisp and bright like they were intended to be. This is why your home printer will often require you to buy a number of different ink cartridges – cyan, yellow, magenta, etc. – so that what you see on your screen is translated to print in a way that upholds the clarity of the color you are viewing.

A designer that puts together a website does it in a way that he knows will be subject to change as the site is updated. The print designer does not have the comfort of being able to make those changes, as the finished article needs to match exactly what the customer ordered, especially when it is being delivered in bulk. In short, web design is a fluid, organic process that can be quickly changes, whereas print design has to abide by steadfast rules of color and layout. Web And Print?